This study examines the relationship between digitally mediated and spatially embedded forms of socialization and self-reported health among older adults in urban China, while also exploring the moderating role of physical mobility. Using community-based survey data of adults aged 60 and above living in urban Hangzhou, we adopted a multilevel modeling approach and found that online socialization is significantly associated with better health, even after adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. Meanwhile, the place-based in-person socialization showed a positive but nonsignificant association with health in the fully adjusted model. Further interaction analyses indicate that physical mobility significantly moderates the relationship between online socialization and health. Specifically, higher levels of online socialization are significantly associated with better health among older adults with low to average mobility, but this association attenuates and is no longer statistically distinguishable from zero among those with higher physical mobility. In contrast, physical functioning does not significantly moderate the association between place-based in-person socialization and health. These findings suggest that online socialization may serve as a compensatory social resource for older adults facing physical constraints and offer several implications. First, they highlight the importance of digital platforms as a protective social resource for older adults, particularly those with mobility constraints. Second, the study highlights the need to consider heterogeneity in both the socialization modalities and individual functional capacity when designing tailored health-promoting programs for the aging population.

Population aging presents urgent challenges for global urban health, especially in China. This study examines how three types of neighborhood social infrastructures – public green spaces, gated green spaces, and neighborhood centers – affect health among older adults through physical and social activities and community engagement. Using survey data from Hangzhou, we estimated multilevel regression models. Results show that physical activity in public green spaces and social activities in both public green spaces and neighborhood centers were significantly associated with better health, while gated green spaces showed no independent effects. Higher community engagement was positively associated with health but did not moderate most activity–health relationships, except in neighborhood centers where diminishing returns were observed. Findings highlight that meaningful engagement, rather than access alone, underpins the health benefits of neighborhood environments and provide insights for developing age-friendly communities in rapidly urbanizing contexts.

Introduction Traditional oncology outcome measures, such as survival rates and disease progression, fail to fully capture the complex lived experiences of persons and patients with cancer, including psychological distress, financial burdens and changes in social roles. While person- and patient-centred outcomes have emerged as essential components of quality cancer care, ambiguities persist regarding their definitions and measurement methodologies in clinical trials.

Methods and analysis This scoping review aims to explore how person-centred and patient-centred outcomes are defined and measured in cancer clinical trials and to identify trends, gaps and methodological approaches for their assessment. Comprehensive searches will be conducted across PubMed, SCOPUS, Sci-Elo, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Google Scholar for grey literature sources, encompassing articles from August 2020 to August 2025. Eligible studies include primary research that reports patient- or person-centred outcomes in cancer clinical trials. Studies focusing solely on preventative care or lacking assessment of patient- or person-centred outcomes will be excluded. Studies will be independently screened and selected by two reviewers in duplicate, adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews. Data extraction will also be conducted independently and in duplicate using a standardised extraction tool, with disagreements resolved through consensus to ensure consistency and accuracy. Results will be synthesised qualitatively and quantitatively, with narrative and thematic analysis used to identify trends and gaps in the literature.

Fukushima Field Trip Course (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, GHP549, Winter Session 2025) offered a unique educational experience for 15 graduate students from various disciplines at Harvard University, to examine ongoing recovery challenges in Fukushima following Japan’s 2011 triple disaster, which included a massive earthquake with powerful aftershocks, a tsunami, and explosive meltdowns at a coastal nuclear power plant. The course included interactions with diverse stakeholders in Fukushima and Tokyo and site visits to foster a comprehensive understanding. Organized into three groups (Health Monitoring, Risk Communication, and Environmental Decontamination), students presented their reports and results at Fukushima Medical University on January 21, 2025. The Health Monitoring group recommended enhancing the Fukushima Health Management Survey through community engagement, mixed-method approaches, and integrated data systems. The Risk Communication group proposed a national 15th anniversary campaign to revise and renew public perceptions of Fukushima in Japan and abroad. The Environmental Decontamination group suggested leveraging international solidarity to create a global network around reconstruction after disasters and promoting “Hope Tourism.” The course is designed to connect Fukushima with the world and prepare future leaders in community rebuilding after major crises.

This study examines the relationship between community governance during the 2022 Shanghai COVID-19 lockdown and residents’ perception of the city. The perception is constructed by residents’ attitudes toward the city and their attachment to the city, which are respectively interpreted by the literature of residential satisfaction and place attachment. Findings indicate that enforced confinement negatively impacts both measurements. Meanwhile, effective community governance, particularly reflected in satisfaction with sustenance distribution, satisfaction with PCR testing arrangements, and perception of community governance staff’s roles, positively influences residents’ attitudes. However, compared to residents’ attitudes, socioeconomic factors, including their hukou, income disruption and job stability, have stronger influences on their city attachment. This study thereby contributes to the literature by advancing the understanding of community governance’s role during crises, its differential influences on different population groups, and the emphasis on city-scale analysis for people–place relationships. This study provides insights for policymakers to enhance urban resilience during crisis management.

Social cohesion within neighborhoods significantly influences community governance. Residents in cohesive neighborhoods tend to engage more actively and express greater satisfaction with governance. The COVID-19 pandemic poses challenges to governance at national and local levels, particularly evident in China, where neighborhoods play a vital role in the pandemic response. However, the impact of cohesion on community-level governance satisfaction remains unclear. This study develops a theoretical framework based on social cohesion and social capital, utilizing survey data from Shanghai residents and community governance staff who experienced the Spring 2022 city-wide lockdown. Seven neighborhood cohesion dimensions are established, and community governance is deconstructed into sustenance distribution and PCR testing. Statistical analysis identifies trust, neighborhood connections, togetherness, and general norms as influential factors, with variation between residents and community governance staff. The findings thus connect Chinese neighborhoods to international literature, offering policy insights for crisis-driven community governance.

Residents’ committees (RCs) are crucial in China’s “dynamic zero-COVID” policy. They were at the frontline of combating the pandemic yet received wide criticism, drawing controversies to their roles and actions as grassroots organizations or extensions of state control. To further understand RCs in China’s community governance, this research conceptualizes RCs as street-level bureaucrats (SLBs), capable of exercising discretion and policy entrepreneurship, and argues that RCs are the “intermediary space” between the state and society. Questionnaire surveys and structured interviews were used to examine RCs’ roles and their discretion and policy entrepreneurship during the city-wide lockdown in Shanghai, China, in the Spring of 2022. Results suggest that RC staff, volunteers, and residents tend to perceive RCs’ roles differently. Although RC staff might have considered themselves government representatives, they also reported the need to address residents’ needs when implementing policies. At the same time, they actively used discretion, mobilized volunteers, established temporary systems, and helped with residents’ spontaneous group actions, all without directly violating epidemic policies. These insights suggest new ways to understand the nuances of China’s community governance.

Communicating health knowledge effectively at the community level is essential for shaping resilient urban governance in a pandemic period. This paper examines how three styles of community health communication, namely traditional authoritative communication (TAC), authoritative communication via social media (ACSM), and interactive communication via social media (ICSM), were associated with public trust in different types of “institutions”, namely the community administration and scientists, in a context where the respondents were in strict lockdown. This research was conducted with an online survey in February 2020 of 4595 respondents in urban China not long after the strict lockdown was introduced. Embedded in the theory of public trust in institutions during pandemic, the regressions established that traditional authoritative communication played a significant role in maintaining the public’s trust in both community administrators and scientists. Interactive communication via social media damaged trust in scientists and increased trust in administrators when used effectively. It is suggested that policymakers, government officials, and healthcare professionals should not abandon traditional authoritative health communication, and greater efforts can be devoted to quality improvement. Moreover, the study highlighted the need to gain a better understanding of what the targeted audience perceive to be “good communication” before communication.